Your child is pulling stellar grades but you notice some of the things she does for homework seem a little basic. You are happy she is so successful but you have a sneaking suspicion something is not right.
Unfortunately, many of your suspicions are probably valid. As a career educator I have seen many examples of a practice that existed before, but really lit up during and after covid, and that is grade inflation.
Unless a district/school/teacher is doing Standards Based Grading (and it’s still possible for it to happen then) many teachers will inflate grades in a number of ways.
Sometimes it is for “noble” reasons like admin is forcing some ridiculous assignment, exam or paper directly on to the students. The teacher doesn’t teach this unit or assignment and knows they didn’t prepare the students for the exam they took, so they scale it so high, nearly everyone gets an “A”
Other times it is to cover what the teacher could not get to or simply did not teach very well. Sometimes grades are used to cover up a teacher’s mistakes or deficits they created with a weak practice. If everyone’s getting A’s, no one’s questioning how well that teacher is doing. Often more new teachers still learning what works and what doesn’t may fall victim to this practice.
And sometimes it comes from other places besides the teachers who are struggling to be effective. Sometimes it comes from administration or guidance who give kids A’s or passing grades when they don’t deserve them. Nothing shuts people up like an “A”.
The problem is that grade inflation and free grades became the norm during covid, and on one level this practice kept going. There is a crisis of students who cannot do college level work because of the deficits they have accumulated, even though they have A’s. This more than anything motivates me and my colleagues here at Project Prospero. Students and parents should not be gaslit by inadequate schools/teachers.
Teaching can be a brutal experience and many people are in it for different reasons. If a teacher does not blast through the first few years of teaching and constantly try and improve they can become prone to a whole host of problems. Teaching requires so much time and work to do things right. More time than anyone realistically has. You can always do more, do better, and learning to manage that can be excrutiatingly difficult.
I just wanted to break the ice about this dirty little secret most schools won’t acknowledge. There are good teachers and there bad teachers, but you should be aware that just because your students are getting “A’s” it’s not a guarantee they are learning what they need.
We here at Project Prospero are pledged to give you an honest evaluation, and then help to transform your student or enrich them in any skills they need. Book a zoom or phone call today to talk about what we can do for you and your student.
